²⁰┆𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 ─ .✦

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

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JUNGWON - Monster

──────────────⚪── 1:58/3:10◄◄⠀▐▐ ⠀►► ──○─ ⠀ ᴴᴰ ⚙ ♬

「 ✦ You put me on a pedestal and tell me I'm the bestRaise me up into the sky until I'm short of breath (yeah)Fill me up with confidence, I say what's in my chestSpill my words and tear me down until there's nothing leftRearrange the pieces just to fit me with the rest, yeahBut what if I, what if I trip?What if I, what if I fall?Then am I the monster?Just let me knowAnd what if I, what if I sin?And what if I, what if I break? YeahThen am I the monster? YeahJust let me know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahI was 15 when the world put me on a pedestalI had big dreams of doin' shows and making memories (yeah)Made some bad moves trying to act cool, upset by their jealousy (uh-uh)Lifting me up (lifting me up), lifting me up (yeah)And tearing me down (down), tearing me down (down, down), yeahI'll take responsibility (ooh) for everything I've done (yeah)Holding it against me (yeah) like you're the holy one, yeahI had a chip on my shoulder, had to let it go'Cause unforgiveness keeps them in controlI came in with good intentions then I let it goAnd now I really wanna knowWhat if I, what if I trip? Oh (oh)What if I, what if I fall? (I fall)Then am I the monster? (Am I the monster?)Just let me know (let me know)And what if I, what if I sin? (Oh)And what if I, what if I break? Yeah (ooh)Then am I the monster? (Am I the monster?)Just let me knowOh, please just let me know, yeahBaby, what if I fall down?Please don't let me fallOh, please don't let me fall ✦ 」─•──── 𖦤

Jungwon had finally released the song.At first, only a few people clicked on the video.But Jungwon was smiling anyway happy about every single listener and every view. He posted his song everywhere, promoting it on social media, writing small captions full of hope.

During the first two weeks, nothing big happened.But in the third week, everything changed.

Jungwon's song started gaining thousands of listeners every hour.Apparently, a big newspaper had written about his song and recommended it publicly.Jungwon couldn't believe it he kept refreshing the screen, reading the comments, smiling at each compliment like it was a precious gift.

I felt so proud of him.He thanked me again and again, telling me that without me, he would've never opened that door neither the room nor the one inside his heart.

The café team was cheering for him too. We never expected what came next..after two months, Jungwon had a manager, international attention, and his first song had reached five million views.

He quit the café.He was being recognized on the streets, which made working hard, so I stayed and continued to support him not as a manager, but as the person who would stay beside him no matter how high the lights went.

He worked a lot.More than I ever thought a person could without collapsing into the pillow at night. The days became longer, the nights shorter. His phone never stopped buzzing emails from producers overseas, messages from fans in languages neither of us could fully understand, schedules written in digital calendars that looked like tightly woven threads across time. But every time I watched him, really watched him, I saw something pure in all that chaos: a boy who once hid his music behind a locked door now standing in the middle of his dream, not running from it anymore.

He became more popular each week his name written in headlines, sung in comments, whispered in interviews like something rare and rising. And I watched from the side, my heart full in a way that felt almost too much for my body. Pride pulled tears into my eyes sometimes without warning like when I heard his voice coming from a stranger's phone on the bus, or when two girls in a café replayed his lyrics as if they were secrets.

After a few months, we moved in together.

It wasn't a dramatic moment not fireworks or a perfect movie scene. It happened naturally, the way morning light slowly fills a room. One night I stayed at his place and never really packed my things to go back home. My clothes found their way into his drawers beside his oversized shirts. My books sat on his nightstand next to his headphones and messy stacks of notebooks filled with lyrics. One toothbrush became two. Two mugs became four. And suddenly "his apartment" became "our home."

Living with Jungwon was a quiet kind of paradise.The world outside screamed his name, but inside our walls he was just him. Just Jungwon, with sleepy eyes in the morning, hair pointing in every direction because he rolled around in bed like a wild animal in his dreams. Jungwon, who cooked with music humming from his throat, dancing with bare feet on the cold kitchen tiles while stirring something simple but made with love. Jungwon, who pressed absentminded kisses to my temple when he walked past me, like love was something as easy as breathing.

The studio took up half of the living room.Cables coiled like sleeping snakes across the floor. A keyboard sat beside a bowl of half-eaten strawberries. Notebooks with scribbled verses were everywhere on the couch, the shelves, sometimes under the blanket where he'd fallen asleep mid-writing. But I loved it. That mess was proof of his passion, the physical shape of his dreams building themselves into reality. At night, the soft blue light from the mixing screen washed over his face, and sometimes I'd sit beside him with my head on his shoulder while he worked, listening to the unfinished songs that only I got to hear first.

It was beautiful watching him grow.

Not just as an artist, but as a person.The shy boy who once looked at the floor during conversations was now sitting in rooms with people twice his age, speaking about his art like it mattered because now he believed it did. The boy who called himself a monster now received letters from listeners who told him that his music saved them from their darkest nights. The boy who cried on the beach for a friend he lost now wrote songs that let the world feel that grief with him instead of burying it alone.

And I watched it all, step by step.

I watched him learn how to stand taller.How to smile without apologizing for taking up space.How to breathe through fear and turn it into creation.

Sometimes, late at night, when he thought I was asleep, I saw him staring at the ceiling with soft, overwhelmed eyes like he couldn't believe any of this was real. On those nights, he would turn toward me and whisper, barely audible,Jungwon: "Thank you... for staying." And I would pretend to sleep, because answering would make us both cry.

We built rituals together.Tuesday nights were for movies always something old, something foreign. Saturdays were for sleeping in until noon and making pancakes no matter how busy he was. Sunday mornings, if he didn't have meetings, we went walking by the river like we did before any of this began before he was known, when he was just a boy with a broken heart and a hidden room full of music.

Sometimes fans recognized him while we walked.They approached carefully, shy and excited. Jungwon would always smile, even if he was tired. He'd kneel so the camera could catch both faces in the frame, and later, when the fans left, he would squeeze my hand once like he was reminding himself that no matter how big the world became, home was right beside him.

I was proud of him so deeply that it scared me.

Proud not because he was famous, but because he never lost himself while becoming someone the world admired. Proud because he shared the parts of his pain that once made him hide. Proud because he trusted the world again, slowly, bravely.

Watching Jungwon grow was the most beautiful thing I have ever lived.

Every day I saw a new version of him one built from the love he received and the love he finally felt he deserved. And somewhere in that growth, I grew too. His strength gave me courage. His vulnerability taught me softness. His music taught me that wounds do not make you unlovable they make you human.

One Year Later

Jungwon:"Sohee, are you ready for my first show?"he asked, his voice shaking with excitement.

Sohee:"Yes," I whispered back.

He leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead a quiet way of saying Jungwon:"thank you for everything."Then he walked onto the stage.

Five thousand people were there waiting for him, screaming his name, holding signs, wearing merch.Jungwon had released his first album and was performing it live.He wasn't the quiet boy from the café anymore.He was a global artist shining brighter than ever.

When his most beloved song 'Monster' started playing, the entire venue grew quiet.The lights dimmed, and Jungwon's voice filled the room like a prayer.

Jungwon:"This song," he said, holding the microphone gently,Jungwon:"was written for a good friend I lost when I was fifteen. He was my inspiration... my strength during my worst days. This song... is for you, Jay."

He started singing.

And suddenly, I was crying because I could hear his heart in every note.He wasn't just performing; he was healing.You could hear the pain, the love, the memories everything that shaped him.

At the end of the song, tears were visible in his eyes.The crowd cheered, loud and bright, like a thousand stars.

As the show neared its end, Jungwon lifted the microphone again.

Jungwon:"Before I end this show," he said, turning toward the side of the stage,Jungwon:"I want to thank a very important person. My girlfriend."

He looked at me and called my name.My legs felt weak, but I walked onto the stage.

Jungwon:"She was the one who pushed me to do what I love. She supported me from the first day I saw her. She was there when I had no one,she pulled me out of a deep, dark place."His voice broke.Jungwon:"Sohee, I love you."

He pulled me close and kissed me on stage.The crowd erupted cheering, clapping, screaming his name and mine.

It was perfect a moment made of love, tears, and dreams we never expected to come true.

✧₊⁺🕯⋆.˚୨ৎ

After the show, when Jungwon walked to the backstage room, he froze.

Standing there were Jay's parents.

His breath stopped.

Jay's mother smiled with tears in her eyes.Jay's mother:"We are proud of you, Jungwon."

Jay's father stepped forward, his voice soft nothing like the anger Jungwon remembered.Jay's father:"I'm sorry for everything in the past. It was never your fault."

They both hugged him.

Jungwon collapsed into their arms, crying releasing years of pain he carried alone.It felt like the darkness inside him finally melted away.

°‧🫧⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Later that night, we went for a walk.We took photobooth pictures, laughed at our messy hair and red eyes from crying.We got drinks and talked about the future like it belonged to us.

Then, we went to our beach the place that once belonged to only him, where he used to sit alone with his broken heart.

Now, we sat together.

The moon reflected on my necklace the small sun pendant he had given me.It glowed like it had a heartbeat.

Jungwon looked at me carefully, his voice gentle.

Jungwon:"I remember the first time I saw you," he said.Jungwon: "You shined so bright... like the sun. I knew I would fall in love with you if you kept coming to the café. I tried to shut myself away, but I couldn't resist you. Without you, I would be nothing. You taught me so many things, Sohee."

My cheeks turned warm.

Jungwon continued, his voice trembling with honestyJungwon:"I love you more than you could ever imagine. You're the best thing that ever happened to me... and I never want to be apart from you."

We looked at each other.The waves grew louder, the sky darker but everything else felt warm.

Sohee:"I love you, Jungwon," I whispered.

Jungwon:"I love you too, Sohee," he breathed.

We kissed  and it felt like our first kiss all over again.My heart was racing, my hands shaking, my whole body remembering every piece of him.

When we finally pulled away, we stayed in the sand just two souls who found each other through pain, healing, and dreams we didn't even know we had.

Who would've thought that I would one day marry the quiet boy from the café the boy who once hid behind walls, who avoided love, who called himself a monster.

The boy whose heart I broke open...and who became my first love Yang Jungwon.

THE END⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹